Module 28 – Teamwork is a Choice

Hello again. So in the last module we were talking about trust in teamwork and hopefully you’ve managed to get some sense of that of how to start bringing trust and openness into your team. And you’ve had a go at that. In this module, we’re just going to start talking about really putting all of that into practise and really starting to work hard at teamwork. Now teamwork is a choice. Teamwork, though, takes energy, time, commitment, and that comes from you. He’s the leader. And it really means engaging with the team. Teamwork requires courage. Courage is one of the essential qualities of a leader. Do you have the courage to really bring your team together? I hope you do and I hope now that we are most of the way through this particular training package. That you really feel that you’re up to this and you really want to do that and now is the time to really start digging into your reserves of courage. And as you do, you will find that you build courage as you move forward. So today, it’s about asking yourself. Is my team really a team? And do I have the capacity to really, really bring my team together into a high performing team? So if you look at the test the text, sorry, we’ve got a little assessment sheet and I’m going to ask you to go through. That and go through it as an individual and then if you’ve got the courage, ask the members of your team to go through it as well. And then ask your team to come together and have a discussion. About what comes up for them. Now this will take courage. If your team is a large team, if your team and you’re willing to admit this isn’t the best performing team there is, you may well uncover difficult issues. You may have some difficult moments. But this is part of building trust. This is part of building the openness. This is part of building the commitment that you will seek. This is also about building that openness so you can have that constructive dialogue. It’s part of building the framework so that you hold each other accountable, and once you get there, it’s part of the process of achieving results. So this is. All part of the process I’m not underestimating this. This is going to be a challenge. This is going to require courage, but if you are to be a good leader, if you are to be a great leader, if your team is to be a high performing team, then you need to dig into. Your courage. Your reserves of courage. And you need to engage with your team and have that discussion. So read the text, get the form, and if you’re feeling ready, share it with your colleagues. Get them to fill it in as individuals come together as a team, have that discussion. And you may need when you do that to really consciously. Force yourself to sit back. You may need to not get work hard at not being defensive. It may be. That you want to engage a facilitator or some other third party to help run that session. I would strongly urge you not to have your boss or somebody who’s too close to the line management. Uh within your area. So if you can get a consultant, a coach, a facilitator in or somebody for another business area to come and help you, that may be something you’d want to do. Or it may be that you are happy enough to do that on your own, but whichever way you do it. You’ve got to get involved, be open and start building that trust. So have a go. See how you get on. Uh, Start learning the lessons. If it doesn’t go perfectly, don’t worry. These things take time, days and weeks, probably months. But believe me, when a good team is working well together, it is more uh, it is worth more than all the effort you’ve put in. It really is worthwhile. So stick with it. Best of luck with that when we come back in the next module, we’ll be moving on to a completely different area. And starting to put everything together for you as a leader, best of luck with this task.